Jun 27 Rethink Your Playdough

Ah, Playdough.

We've all been here, right?

Mixed colors being stuffed back into containers, texture hardening because it was left out from the night before, and little fingers forcing endless amounts of Playdough into the cracks of our kitchen table.

"Do we really want to take out the Playdough again?"

Consider this.

What is a childhood without Playdough?

In my opinion, it is the foundation of every young blooming mind.

Perhaps playdough needs a makeover. Here's how to use it to boost creativity.

What are loose parts?

Loose parts was originally coined by British architect Simon Nicholson to describe open-ended materials that can be used and manipulated in different ways. (Nicholson 1971)

Loose parts will challenge creativity to think outside of box.

"The process of unintellectual learning takes place through natural interaction with real things in the child's environment. Loose parts are real things, ordinary things, ordinary objects, that when placed intentionally in infants' and toddlers' environment, support their cognitive growth through exciting discoveries" (Taken from, Loose Parts 2, Inspiring Play with Infants and Toddlers)

Loose parts do not have a specific function or purpose.

They are objects that do not have a button to push, or preprogramed intent. They also do not use batteries.